Neurostar TMS Therapy

Has anyone had this done before and does it help you?

Do you experience any side effects?

Link to what it is:

https://neurostar.com

My psychiatrist suggested it to me. Since I've tried a lot of anti depressants and they haven't helped.

My psychiatrist currently put me on Cymbalta 60 mg. But if that doesn't help, I may consider trying the Neurostar TMS Therapy.

Since he said I was a candidate for it. He also said that for half people it's helped the depression and for the other half, it completely took the depression away.

I have not done this treatment.

I have heard very different "statistics" about treatment outcomes; the statistics I have heard are not so promising.

I am also told researchers are trying to perfect TMS, hoping to make it more effective.

Personally, I would do a lot of research before spending the time/money on this form of treatment.

I hope you get more replies.

Best wishes,

WC

Glad to have found this forum. Probably schedule next week for mapping of TMS. Would appreciate input from others who have had this procedure

I too am currently considering this TMS (transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) treatment. My pdoc recommended ECT, but I refuse to even consider that. In looking into the TMS, I also found a direct current therapy that is based on the same principle as TMS, but the current is not as strong. You can even do it at home. There are various manufacturers that sell the device and even instructional videos on YouTube on how to make your own! It is very well received in the UK now. The device I am looking at is called the Fisher Wallace and it is priced at 1/10 of the cost of one course of TMS treatment.
I don’t know what to try next. The TMS or the Fisher Wallace thing.

By the way, the statistics are not quite as your doctor told you with TMS. 50% of people have some improvement in their condition. 50% do not have any improvement. A large percentage of those who have improvement seem to go into a remission and no longer have depression! Most of the improved patients (70%) do need to come back and have “booster” treatments but they are just a couple times and not everyday for 6 weeks. So the odds are not as good as you were told, but still a 50/50 shot is not bad.

I’m beginning week 5 tomorrow. I can’t say I really feel any differently, except for the initial “placebo” effect I had when I began. I’m beginning to think that the office I go to [and the larger chain that they’re apart of] is overselling this. Still can’t get out of bed a lot, heavy crying, inability to do basic tasks, you know the drill.

No physical side effects for me.

I recently finished a 6-week course of TMS treatment. I had a long (30+ years) history of "treatment resistant" depression with SSRIs and other medications working at times but not over long periods and with side effects that were intolerable. Have done years of psychotherapy as well.

Without going into major detail, I'd say the treatment did help and that my mood has been stabilized to a point where my mood has not fluctuated greatly since finishing treatment. It's not subtle but it's also not like I'm happy, happy all the time either!

More that my mood is not swinging as low as it used to.

My Psych recommended looking into the treatment and I did so only after many months and thinking it would just be way too inconvenient. You can make it work if a) insurance will pay some/most of the cost and b) you can rearrange your life for 6 weeks or so.

I am lucky to have supportive family and good insurance. Also I did the TMS at a very reputable hospital with LOTS of experience administering TMS.

I am tracking my mood closely to see if things "stick" over time. The MD I worked with said that a "booster" session may be needed 6 months - year after first course of treatment. So will see what happens.

Am glad to be off antidepressants and all in all would say TMS was worth it but will keep you posted.

I completed the Neurostar treatment 7 months ago. I had the machine that uses a coil shaped like the number 8. That is the less deep kind. The machine that uses an H shaped coil is the deeper type of TMS. Also they can do TMS on either the left side or right side (sometimes both). For me they did the left side.

The Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore does a lot of TMS and uses both types of coils. I asked the head of the unit how they decide which to use. He said that docs do it both ways and sometimes they just choose one. Some docs do the left side if depression is the main thing and the right side if anxiety is the main symptom.

I did my TMS at a center close to my house and they used the Neurostar equipment. The change was subtle but large. And it kept getting better for a few weeks after I finished my last treatment. I was able to completely discontinue Lexapro and Abilify. And I was able to cut by 50% my dose of Remeron. I also cut by 20% my dose of Xanax. I did not cut my dose of Provigil or Buspar. Also I definitely feel better now. I have no depression but still have some anxiety. But less anxiety.

The stats I have seen for TMS for depression in a few sources are that 70% are responders and 50% are remitters. And in one source that 68% are responders. So far I have not needed any booster treatments.

Thanks for sharing. Very helpful

I'm glad this post is here. I am in the process of getting approved for this treatment. My Psychiatrist, who is with the largest neuro center in the country ( Dent Neurologic) told me the treatment works 65% of the time...Some people need follow up treatments as maintenance.. He said I might have to come back once a month...

YES, I'VE TRIED IT! It was nothing less than magical for about 2 weeks (oh, the heartbreak!). But IT DID work! Please give it a shot... It may be your magic bullet even if it wasn't mine. There is definitely something to this new treatment.
Best wishes and hugs!

Thanks to all who gave their view on this treatment. After a lifetime of depression, substance abuse and all the associated poor qualities of life they bring, I am about to begin TMS. More than forty years of trying first generation (and beyond) antidepressants, with only ten years on a good run with Zoloft and now it's lost its efficacy. I've tried other meds with minimal, if any, reduction in symptoms. So it's very uplifting to hear your reports on TMS. After reading some psych studies on treatment resistant depression one really summed things up really well for me."Patients with major depression respond to antidepressant treatment, but 10%–30% of them do not improve or show a partial response coupled with functional impairment, poor quality of life, suicide ideation and attempts, self-injurious behavior, and a high relapse rate." (per NCBI) Except for the suicide part this sentence describes my life precisely- no wonder I've not been able to do better, get out from under, get out of my own way, live a 'normal' life- all because depression has had its grip and caused me to squander my own life. You cannot know how enlightening yet how sad, angry, irate this has made me. Forty or more years of a potentially good life robbed by messed up brain chemicals. And I can't get back that time...

Hi all- I just had my sixth treatment today of tms and up til now, have done really well. Today they upped the intensity a bit to get to where they need me to be. It was intolerable and as much as I'd like not to even think this, don't want to return if it's this bad. My question is can the final results still be obtained if a lower 'dose' is utilized rather than the desired 'dose'? Even if it's done for eight or ten weeks instead of six at the lower dose would be fine for me. But would it work that way or will it only work at the therapeutic designated intensity?

Did nothing for me. 42 sessions. I have severe TRD.

I will be starting TMS probably by the end of this week. My insurance now covers it at 100% (just a year ago, it was not covered). I have nothing to lose by trying it.

I've done TMS. It had a subtle effect. One person I spoke to in a support groups said that she didn't feel anything markedly different until her first booster session after that initial round, usually recommended 6 months to a year or so after your first round. Then she said it was like a light turned on (or something like that). So, for those who had little to subtle changes in their symptoms, there is hope that your boosters may be the key. I haven't gotten any boosters yet, but I look forward to seeing if it helps.

I recently had TMS treatment that did help....not the miracle I had hoped for, but overall it did make a difference. I don't take any medications for depression (haven't for years), and was able to wean off of Trazodone (for insomnia). I have chronic conditions that would bring some to their knees and want to commit suicide. TMS has strengthened my resolve.

A red flag to me was when I googled "what is neurostar" The entire first page was ads pushing neurostar.

Quote:

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Conclusion

Quote:

TMS has rekindled interest in the role of brain stimulation in psychiatric disorders. Some of the studies have shown promising but not conclusive evidence for the efficacy of TMS in depression. But TMS has not been shown to be effective in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, posttraumatic disorder, or schizophrenia. The patient sample size has been a cause of concern in most studies. There has been no multicenter study so far. There is a need to develop further consensus on the following parameters in TMS studies: Shape of coil, coil-cortex distance, motor threshold, low frequency versus high frequency stimulation, and location of the correct point of stimulation for each disorders.

I am not saying it doesnt work but anytime I google something and get 2 pages of ads I get suspicious.

Conclusion
I am not saying it doesnt work but anytime I google something and get 2 pages of ads I get suspicious.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Neurostar is a business, like any other....of course they are going to advertise! Same as with any doctor, therapist, etc. How are you going to know they exist otherwise? Neurostar is the treatment I had....and overall it did help. Unlike drugs, no side effects for me whatsoever.

FWIW I had 42 sessions for TRD and had zero benefit. No side effects either.

Just got done with 30 sessions of Neurostar TMS therapy and would not have started had I known how I was going to feel.Had quite a few day where I felt pretty lousy after a session,lightheaded,sudden rush to head,constant headache since day one,had too many days where I had to come home and lie down and try to sleep it off and it would feel like my head had rocks bouncing around in it,its been 3 days since I opted to stop as on last session was immediately feeling ill right after session....still getting lightheaded with a constant "solid" feeling headache and sleep has been terrible,waking up and brain feels like its scrambling...and nauseous at times,didnt want be a "quitter" and was hopeful this would work.Just hoping these side effects go away and head starts to feel somewhat normal.Havent seen mention of these things happening to others but find it hard to think its only me.

What your psychiatrist told you is incorrect. Some people are very fortunate and get amazing results with TMS and full remission but most people get some partial remission that last only for a period of time and a whole lot of people get no relief. It's definitely worth trying and I hope you are one of the 60% of people who find great relief and full or partial remission.

Tried TMS twice with no results.

Follow-up: It's been a year since I had TMS treatment. While it is not the miracle cure I had hoped for, it has helped me a lot in handling whatever life throws my way. I have not been on antidepressants since 2013. Even managed to ween myself off of Trazadone that I took for insomnia thanks to TMS treatment.

If your insurance covers this treatment (expensive otherwise!), it's worth a try.

I had TMS about 2 years ago, 34 sessions and about 12 thousand dollars later, I felt no relief at the end, still don't feel progress, am also severe TRD.